At least some known magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems employ a thermal shield assembly for preventing heat from being radiated or transferred from a warm region where an object (e.g., a patient) is being imaged to a cold region where one or more main magnets or main coils are positioned. However, since the thermal shield assembly is typically made of metal materials, such as aluminum, eddy current will be induced on at least a part of the body of the thermal shield when a gradient coil assembly of the MRI system is driven by pulsed current signals to impose one or more gradient fields on a main magnetic field generated by the main magnet or the main coils. The induced eddy current interacts with the main magnetic field and produces significant Lorentz force on the thermal shield. The Lorentz force may excite one or more thermal shield resonance modes or cause the thermal shield assembly to vibrate. The resulting effect of such vibrations or resonances is that significant heat will be generated on the main magnet or main coils, which may cause excessive cryogen or coolant boil-off and may potentially quench the main magnet or the main coils in some circumstances.